EF{CLY DOOR Ii\T "TF{E FACE of MERCY"
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TT-{E F{CLY DOOR Ii\T "TF{E FACE OF MERCY" Excerpts from Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy) BULL OF INDICTiON OF THE EXTRAORDINAI{Y JUBiLEE OF MERCY FRANCIS BISHOP OF ROME SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD TO ALL \ATHO READ THIS LETTER GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE '1. ?€ Jesus Christ is the face of the Father's mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its cuknination in him. The Father, "rich in mercy" (Eph2:4), after having revealed his name to Moses as "a God rnerciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex34:6),has never ceased to show, in various ways throughout history, his divine nature. In the "fullness of time" (Gal4:4), when everything had been arranged according to his plan of salvation, he sent his only Son into the world, born of the Virgin Mary, to reveal his love for us in a definitive way. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father (c{.ln 14:9). Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person[1] reveals the mercy of God. 2. We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of. joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the furLdamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looksrsincerely into the eyes of his brothers ald sisters on the path of 1ife. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and marL opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfu-lness. 3. At times we are cal1ed to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father's action in our lives. For this reason I have proclairned an Extraordinary lubilee of Mercy as a special time for the Church, a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more ef{ective. l0 lPage The Holy Year will open on 8 December 2A15, &e Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This liturgical feast day recalls Go#s action from the very beginning of the history of mankind. A{ter the .- ":*"' sin of Adam and Erre, God did not wish to leave humanity alone in the throes o{ evil. And so he turned his gaze to Mary, hol1,616 immaculate in love (cf. Eph 1:4), choosing her to be the Mother of man's Redeemer. When faced with the gravity of siru God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive. I wili have the joy of openjng the Holy Door on the Soiernnity of the Immaculate Conception. On that day, the Hol)r Door will become a Door o,f MelcJl th-rough which anyone who e&terc wrllexl2cnence the love of God who consoles, pardons, arrd instills hope (emphasis added). On the followirrg Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, the Holy Door of the Cathedral of Rome - that is. the Bagilica o-f Saint Tohrr Lateran * will be opened. In the following weeks, the Holy Doors of the other Papal Basilicas will be- opened. On the same Sund=ry. I ryill announce that in efiery local church, at the cathedral- the mother church of the faithful in any particular a.rea - or, altemativel)., at the co- cathedral a Door of for the duration the Hol)r Year (emphasis added). At the discretion of the loca1 ordinary, a similar door may be opened at any shrine frequented by large groups of pilgrims, since visits to these holy sites are so often grace-filled moments, as people discover a path to conversion. Every Particular Church, therefore, wi1l be directly involved in living out this Holy Year as an extraordinary moment of grace and spiritual renewal. Thus the ]ubilee wfi be celebrated both in Rorne and in the Particular Churches as a visible sign of the Chu-rcn"s universal conrmr:nion. ':"&". 4. I have chosen the date of 8 December because o{ its rich meaning in the recent history of the , $ Church. ftr fact, i will open the Holy Door on the fiJtieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Cor.:rcil. The Church feels a great need to keep this event alive. With the Council, the Church errtered a new phase of her history. Th.e Council Fathers strongiy perceived, as a true breath of the Holy Spirit, a need to talk about God to men and women of their time in a more accessible way. The walls which lor too long had made the Church a kind of fortress were torn down and the time had come to proctraim the Cospel in a new way. It r4/as a new phase of the same evangelization that had existed &om the beginning. It was a fresh undertaking lor all Christians to bear wikress to their faith r rith greater enthusiasm and conviction. The Church sensed a responsibility to be a living sign of the Father's love in the world. With these sentiments of gratitude for everything the Church has received, and with a sense of {rrlIy responsibilitvLJ for the task that iies ahead, rye sha]l cross the threshold of the. Hollr Doof confident that the strength of the Risen Lord, who constantly*supports. ps pn our pilgrim way. will sustain us (enrphasis added). May the Holy Spiri! who guides the steps of believers in cooperating with the work of salvation wrought by Christ, lead the way and support the People of God so that they may contemplate the face of rnercy. 5. The Jubilee year will close with the llturgical Solernnity of Christ the King on 20 Novernber 2016. On that day, as we seal the Holy Door, we sha1l be filled, above all, udth a sense of gratitude and a' thanksgiving to the Most Holy T"ittify for having 5ranted. Lrs €lfl extraordinary time of Erace.'t{e will .!6s entrust the life of the Church, all humanity, and the entire cosmos to the Lordship of Christ, asking him to pour out his mercy upon us like the morning dew, so that everyone may work together to 1LlPage build a brighter future. How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we carl go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midstl 14. The practice of pilgrimag,eltas aspecial place in the Holy Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and the human being is aaiator, a pilgrim travelling along the road, making his way to the desired destination. Similarly, to reach the Holy Door in Rome or in any other place in the world, everyone, each according to his or her ability, will have to make a pilgrimage. This wil1 be a sign that mercy is also a goal to reach and requires dedication and sacrifice, May pilgrimage be an impetus to conversion: b)r crossing the threshold of the Holv Door will find the toe OS and dedi urselves to bei merciful with others as the Father has been with us (emphasis added). .. 25. I presen! therefore, this Extraordinary Jubilee Year dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy which the Father constantly extends to all of us. In this Jubilee Year, 1et us allow God to surprise us. He never tires of casting open the doors of his heart and of repeating that he loves us and wants to share his love with us. The Church feels the urgent need to proclaim God's mercy. Her life is authentic and credible orLl). when she becomes a convincing herald of merqr. She lmows that her iaI1v at a momen and S1 tradiction. is to i evervone to of God's me nola the The Ch cal1ed above all to be a credible witness to mercy professing it and living it as the core of the reveiation of Tesus Christ (emphasis added). From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy we11s up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it, because the mercy of God never ends. The profundity of the mystery surrounding it is as inexhaustible as the richness which springs up from it. In this Jubilee Year, may ihe Church echo the word of God that resounds strong and clear as a message and a sign of pardory strengtkg aid, and love. May she never tire of extending mercy, and be ever patient in offering compassion and comfort. May the Church become the voice of every man and woman, and repeat con{idently without end: "Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old" (Ps 25:6). Giaen in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 11- April, the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday of Dioine Mercy, in the year of our Lord 2015, the third of my Pontificate.